Peter Siddle puts meat on his bones, not his diet, in bid for pace

Peter Siddle has already put on a couple of kilograms in search of the kilometres needed to win back his pivotal role in the Australian Test attack, and says those who criticise his vegan diet have no idea about the toll constant cricket takes on fast bowlers.

Siddle, who this month returned from a county stint with Nottinghamshire at the behest of Cricket Australia, has turned to the resurgent Mitchell Johnson for inspiration as he embarks on a pre-season designed to build up strength in his "bum and legs", where much of the power resides for pacemen.

Peter Siddle of Australia warms up during an Australian nets session Photo: Getty Images

He is confident extra muscle will be enough to get back to his optimum pace - around 140 km/h - after coach Darren Lehmann emphasised the need for speed when he was dropped at the end of the South Africa series.

Siddle has no regrets about the effort he poured into carrying the Australian attack for much of the past three years, but admits the fatigue from non-stop bowling took the edge off his pace.

"I definitely lost a couple of Ks [kilometres], that's for sure, but you can definitely find it back," Siddle said. "Just with weights and getting strength back in my legs. [When] your bum’s not as strong as it could be your legs are falling away and you can’t get through the crease as well. Without doing the weights and the preseasons, you miss out on that. So [now] it's about getting as strong as you can."

Siddle said backing up from one game to the next meant he couldn't help but lose weight, and believes those who point to the lack of meat in his diet as a reason for his diminished pace don't understand the toll of constant bowling.

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"Footy players play for six months and have six months of pre-season so they’re fit and strong by the time the next one comes around. With cricket it drags on and on. It happened with Mitchell Johnson. He had about three years of non-stop cricket and he started to fade away a bit with his pace, and that was only 18 months ago. Now he is bowling the fastest he has ever bowled.

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"People say I’m not as strong, well come and watch me in a gym session, I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. That is the thing people don’t understand. I’m lifting heavier weights than I’ve ever lifted. I’m moving better, It’s just the fatigue; it gets everyone.

"You could go through 150 diffferent Test cricketers who have slowed down in pace because they’ve played a lot of cricket. Kemar Roach is not bowling as fast as he used to. Is he still eating meat? It’s a ridiculous thing. Look at Stuart Broad and James Anderson, they’re not bowling as quick as they used to bowl."

Anderson and Broad are the only pacemen who have sent down more than Siddle's 6367 balls in Tests since November 2011, and Ryan Harris is the next Australian on the list with 3659.

Siddle, 29, will be careful not to sacrifice his control and swing for pace, and admitted his days of clocking 150 km/h are probably behind him.

"That role was with a couple of young guys who were pretty much debuting, Starcy and Patto, so you’re trying to bowl as fast as you can to be the enforcer. But it’s a different story when you’ve got Mitchell Johnson bowling 155 and 'Ryano' mid-140s, my role was to control the innings, control the economy rate, hold up an end and break partnerships... High 130s to low 140s is where I’m at."

"I don’t want to lose [outswing and other variations] because it’s what has got me the big wickets." Kevin Pietersen, for instance, six times in two Ashes series. "I didn’t do anything fancy but I built pressure against one of the best players in world cricket at the time, and I continually got him out." With Harris and James Pattinson injured, Siddle is expected to return the attack for the October Test series against Pakistan in the UAE.

you’re back up day in day out you lose weight no matter what, You can’t get in enough fuel to cover what you are expending out in the field. Since South Africa I have already put on 2 ½ kilos even though I playde a lot of cricket in england just by being in the gym and doing a lot of training outside of cricket.

you’re back up day in day out you lose weight no matter what, You can’t get in enough fuel to cover what you are expending out in the field. Since South Africa I have already put on 2 ½ kilos even though I playde a lot of cricket in england just by being in the gym and doing a lot of training outside of cricket.